Art is about sharing the way we experience the world. Art brings us together and allows us to communicate on a different level. When people think about communication, they generally think about speech, but other means exist. Art is a visual means of communication, and my artwork is language made visible, art that speaks to everyone in a positive form.

I learned Gregg Shorthand as a secretary, and immediately fell in love with this beautiful, phonetic writing system. Gregg Shorthand is the most popular form of pen stenography in the United States, and it has been adapted to other languages, including French, German, Italian, Spanish, Catalan, Irish, Russian, Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, Esperanto, Thai, and many others. Because Gregg Shorthand is based on phonetics, it records the sounds of the speaker, not the spellings. Therefore, in any spoken language, Gregg Shorthand is ultimately a global writing system. With the advent of technology, however, the usage of shorthand has declined and its instruction is nearly extinct. I continued to utilize Gregg Shorthand as a legal secretary. When I matriculated to law school, I took lecture notes in shorthand. Afterwards and for the next 20 years, I took my own notes in shorthand. In 2016, I relocated to South Florida and retired from the practice of law.

My passion is the Art of Gregg Shorthand, and I am dedicated to preserving this beautiful, universal writing system through art. In addition to being the only artist who utilizes learned shorthand as an art form, my work touches on important issues of the human condition. The central concept is not contained by the surface or borders of the wall or the canvas; rather, that is the portal to draw you into a story, an idea, a moment of history, or an expression of mind and emotion that cannot be contained just within words or pictures. My medium is the canvas, the metal, the wood, the paper, and the paint. My writing is in Gregg Shorthand, Cursive, and Braille. I use shorthand words and phrases as an abstract gestural form, in which the form’s meaning provides a narrative abstraction on the canvas. My messages are the conversations contained in the artwork, and to date, I have created artwork in English, French, and Spanish shorthand. For a visual artist who uses words and phrases in the form of shorthand, I also incorporate the actual utilitarian object, the steno pad, in my works. I incorporate Braille as part of the message and as a meaningful texture to the piece.

This is Not a Blank Steno Pad

Rene Magritte’s surrealism gave rise to my Steno pad series of artworks. In ‘This is Not a Blank Steno Pad’ (48×60 in, 122×152 cm), I took Magritte’s ‘Ceci n’est pas une pipe’ one step further: The steno pad is blank, but not blank. Contrary to Magritte’s image of a pipe that could not be used as a pipe, my ‘Steno Pad’ could actually be used as a steno pad. The steno pad represents a history; a point in time; a way of life; a culture; an occupation; an everyday object; a universal object, but also an object that unites everyone in that we all have used a pad from time to time. It represents technology; it is blank because of technology, no one uses it for its intended purpose anymore. It represents the beautiful art of stenography, the art of writing in shorthand; and it represents the dying art of a beautiful, phonetic writing system. And so many other representations that everyone else can think of are in this piece. After I painted the steno pad, I was going to write (in shorthand, of course) life lessons for everyone. But every time I thought about writing on it, I stopped. I could not bring myself to write on this one—my first. I finally realized this one meant more than anything I could express with shorthand.

Open Your Eyes, Open Your Heart

Frank Stella’s canvas shapes inspired my work, ‘Open Your Eyes, Open Your Heart’ (72x72x36x36x36x36 in, 183x183x91x91x91x91 cm). ‘Eyes’ is artwork that allows people with low vision or no vision to ‘see’ the art. The background is layers of white; the shorthand is light gray; the English translation is in white and is in cursive writing; and the Braille cells (more than 1400 in number) are in colors of red, blue, yellow, and green. The shaped canvas serves as an anchor to allow people with low or no vision to read the Braille and follow the lines. The color choices reflect the contrast between the sighted community and the blind community. That is, people who ‘can see’ will have an especially difficult time reading the text, but the people who ‘cannot see’ will have no trouble at all ‘seeing’ and reading the text.

To Our Younger Self

The large mural, ‘To Our Younger Self’ (107×192 in, 272×488 cm), is written in Gregg Shorthand and painted in ‘graffiti-style.’ These phrases are all positive affirmations, including Love and Gratitude; Family; You are beautiful; Act with purpose and understatement; Speak words of kindness and love; Forgive; Find miracles in everyday life; Inspire yourself and others; Use failure as an opportunity to learn; Your opinion matters; and many others. Although few people will be able to read the shorthand, it is my belief that the art itself exudes positivity, and the viewer is invited to experience a better sense of peace in their soul.

Embrace Love and Kindness

In the blue piece, ‘Embrace Love and Kindness’ (36×36 in), at first glance it appears to be an abstract painting. Looking closer, all of the background strokes and the texture of the painting reflect the words “embrace,” “love,” and “kindness” throughout. The yellow forms reflect the title phrase, and the translation lay on two sides in cursive. It was my intent to create and give a subliminal hug to the viewers.

Love Poem

In my work, ‘Love Poem,’ part of the Steno pad series, I utilized Shorthand in English; a translation in Spanish; and Grades 1 and 2 Braille in English. The following is the English translation of my poem:

I want to smile and talk and laugh 
With stained, purple lips 
While we meander through the gorge and salt flats. 

I want to count the colors on the hill... 
Until we reach seven. 
I want to hold hands in a cave, 
And take a train to the top of the clouds. 
I want to tango on a mountain peak 
And breathe in the good air. 

I want to step barefoot on the land of fire, 
And get drenched with your love at the waterfalls. 
Let us experience this journey together, 
Because we are one. 

Art and its many forms are not made for only one segment of society; rather, each artist creates an art form with their identity and culture. Our society needs to encourage and nurture all forms of art, lest they should die.

My goals are to preserve the beautiful art of Gregg Shorthand and to bring people together by creating and sharing art that is universal and accessible to everyone.

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